N.J. woman arrested after reporting bomb hoax at Newark airport

There were no delays reported at Newark Airport following the bomb hoax, officials said.Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger

NEWARK AIRPORT — A Union County woman distraught over her husband’s departure on a trans-Atlantic flight falsely told police he would attempt to blow up his plane mid-flight, officials said.

The woman, Eunice Ukaegbu, 50, was arrested and charged with creating a false public alarm, said township police director Dan Zieser.

The man had left his Union Township house about 11 a.m. Friday to board an afternoon Air France flight to Nigeria from Newark Liberty International Airport, said Zieser.

About 45 minutes later, police received a call from the man’s wife, he said.

"He said he was going to blow up the plane over the Atlantic," Ukaegbu told Union Township police, Zieser said. They called Port Authority police, who found him about 12:30 p.m., before he boarded the airplane, Zieser said.

A search of the man and his luggage, aided by a bomb-sniffing dog, came up empty, and he was allowed to board the plane, said Zieser. "It was absolute nonsense," he said. "But you always have to err on the side of caution."

"Can you imagine, if it had been in the air, they would have turned his flight around," Zieser said.